Ontario Election Party Profile: New Democratic Party

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The NDP last formed the Ontario government in 1990. This is Andrea Horwath’s third provincial election as party leader. Under her leadership, the NDP have won more seats in each general election than the previous.

They won 21 of the 107 ridings in the last general election. Of those 21, the Liberals were 2nd in 14 ridings and the PCs were 2nd in 7 ridings. The NDP were themselves 2nd in another 21 ridings, losing to the Liberals in 15 ridings and to the PCs in 6 ridings. They were 3rd in 62 ridings, of which the Liberals won 42 and the PCs won 20. In 3 ridings, the NDP finished 4th, behind the Green Party in each of them.

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The NDP platform is unquestionably more spending heavy than in the last election. The NDP says that they would implement the Auditor’s suggestions for avoiding waste and saving money, while accusing the Liberals and PCs of “deliver[ing] excuses for not implementing them”.

The NDP promises to balance the budget by 2023, more than a full term into the future.

The NDP platform says that their plan will be paid for by “having the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations pay their fair share”. This would include creating a housing speculation tax and raising corporate income tax.

While small businesses will still pay less than large corporations, even small businesses will end up with a higher corporate income tax under this plan.

After their traditional policy proposal of removing HST from home hydro bills was implemented by the Liberals, the NDP now wants the government to go further.

The NDP promises to buy back control over Hydro One, get rid of on-peak off-peak hours which could substantially increase energy demand during the day, and make First Nations exempt from delivery charges.

The NDP promises $5.317 billion in new hospital funding over 4 years, and the collection and public reporting of wait time data.

They also promise to “[p]rovide drug and dental coverage for all Ontarians”, which would involve minimum health and dental coverage requirements for all employers (including small businesses and startups), public dental coverage for social assistance recipients, and public dental coverage for seniors without retiree benefits.

They would create a system where there are both private and government dental care providers, there is universal pharmacare for prescriptions and take-home cancer drugs, and the government fully covers the costs of transition drugs and surgeries for transgender people.

Healthcare, along with other “basic services”, would be provided to undocumented immigrants, making Ontario a “sanctuary province”.

Notably missing from this year’s NDP platform is their “Job Creation Tax Credit”, which formed a prominent part of their jobs platform in 2011 and 2014.

This year’s platform promises to create 27,000 new paid internship or co-op positions, increase mandatory paid vacation from 2 weeks to 3, and make it harder for employers to ‘hide’ employees as contractors.

The NDP promises to reform zoning regulations to create more affordable housing, including a “minimum density [of housing units] in developments along new transit lines”. They would also consider rent control options, and create a “rent registry” so that “tenants can know how much a landlord has charged in the past”.

The NDP also promises public childcare, which would be free for families making less than $40k per year, and averaging $12 per child per day overall.

The NDP platform this year includes their perennial pledge to reduce auto insurance rates by 15%. The Liberals had agreed to adopt this to avoid an early election over the 2013 budget, but failed to actually do so. The NDP also promises to end “neighbourhood discrimination” so that car insurance companies cannot use a driver’s address to set premiums.

In terms of public transit, the NDP would make Toronto accessible by GO rail from Kitchener-Waterloo and Niagara, as well as prioritize building the Hamilton LRT.